2003-04 Topps C55

  The 2003-04 Topps C55 is basically a copy of the 1911 C55 hockey cards that were included with packs of Imperial Tobacco.  Topps copied the design and layout of the 1911 C55s.  They even filtered the pictures so they would match the quality of hockey card photography from 1911.  While the novelty is nice, it is an easily forgettable set.  

  I believe there is one mini card per pack.  You do have a chance at a "repurchased card", which must be the Original C55 cards advertised on the front.  With one in every 6,390 packs, the odds are against you.

  Felix Potvin played a single season with the Boston Bruins, his last in the NHL.

Here are the backs of the cards.  Topps copied the design of the 1911 C55s here as well.  Hockey cards backs have come a long way.  

  Originally a Montreal Canadien, Tomas was had his breakout season with the Predators in 2002-03.

  A good pack for goalies.  Although this one hurts as an Islanders fan.  

 I remember having this guy in my Fantasy leagues.  Always seemed to be on the cusp of becoming a star but never fulfilled.  Played a decade in Europe after the leaving the NHL.

  A mini card!  Oh joy.  1.5 x 2.5.  I was never a fan of mini cards.  Even worse with this set, there are several parallels backs to chase.  

Stanley Cup Winners is an insert set.  I am surprised they didn't use a filter on the team logo to age it.  One nice thing about these inserts is that the backs actually have some information.  The historical info goes well with the feel of the set.  

Long-time Oiler Ryan Smyth.  That's with two Ys.  You may notice the inconsistent smudging of the yellowish background.  I assume this was another attempt to mimic the 1911 set.

You may have noticed the small numbers on the front of the card.  Sergei Gonchar is card #45 in the set, as shown just over his shoulder.

2020 Topps Big League Baseball Rack Pack

 I ended up stopping by my Target this afternoon hoping that there might be a Series 2 sighting.  Alas there was none, and that wasn't unexpected, but there were a few rack packs of Big League.  I've watched a few box opening and really liked the base design and decided I might try to put the set together.  So I  grabbed a few packs and this was the best one.  Let's have a look at the 30 cards included in this pack.

Here's a good look at the base design, with wunderkind Bo Bichette.

 And here's a quick look at the rest of the base in the pack.

The nice think about the rack packs is you get just about one of every insert.  First up is Flipping Out.

 Next Defensive Wizards

 And finally the Sketch Reproduction insert.  Big Heads!

You also get 3 orange parallels per pack. Getting an Alvarez surely doesn't suck.

 And if getting decent players in the inserts and orange parallel I also beat the odds pulling this Opening Act auto of Bobby Bradley.

2017 Topps Update Series Rack Pack

Greetings...

The last time I posted, it was Leap Day.  College basketball was getting ready for it's Madness.  The NBA and NHL were a month or so away from their playoffs.  Pitchers and catchers reported for duty.  Tom Brady was still a Patriot.

Then Rudy Gobert mockingly touched a bunch of microphones at a press conference regarding the Jazz's response to a dangerous virus that popped up in China at the end of 2019 and was working it's way around the world. Shortly thereafter, all the sports stopped.

So here we are in the middle of June with nothing happening.  Sure, there's a golf match here and a NASCAR race there, but the MLB can't get out of it's way to get a season together, the NBA wants to play in a bubble, and the NHL will have their playoff teams in 2 cities (but not in Canada unless they waive that pesky 2 week quarantine).

Is there a good thing to come out of the pandemic?  Well, The Wifey and I were able to close on a house and we were able to move before the country closed down, but that really wasn't a COVID-related event.  Oh, I know, all of the returning bloggers and the new posts here on this very site!  With the APTBNL offices closed and all of us working remotely, we had 58 posts in April and May...the last time we came close to this number was back in February and March of 2011, when we had 52 posts.

Because of the near daily posts (and the 3rd shift working and the unpacking), I decided to step back and let the other contributors go wild.  Thanks for the numerous and interesting packs guys!

Here's my return to posting with the oldest pics in the Scan folder...it's a 2017 Topps Update Series Rack Pack!

36 cards per pack, and if you missed the retail version, here it is.  Let's see what I got, real quickly since I've rambled on long enough and you all know the set anyway...and I'm working:

#US229 – Tyson Ross

#US165 – Boone Logan

#US155 – Run And Hit (Cincinnati Reds)

#US32 – Luis Torrens (RC)

#US149 – James Pazos

#US267 – Jhoulys Chacin

#US255 – Stefan Crichton (RC)

#US283 – Adam Eaton

#US284 – Peter Bourjos

#US6 – Ramon Torres (RC)

#US142 – Tzu-Wei Lin (RC)

#US225 – Andrew Benintendi (RC / RD)

#US258 – Francis Martes (RC)

#US181 – Emilio Pagan (RC)

#US62 – Travis Wood

#US42 – Seth Smith

#US152 – Robinson Cano (ASG)

#US171 – Brock Stassi (RC) (#300/2017)

#U-7 – CC Sabathia (Untouchables)  1:3

#PC-11 – San Francisco Giants (Postseason Celebrations) 

That Stassi is a Gold parallel if you couldn't tell.  The Untouchables had a 1 in 3 chance for a pull, and there was 1 celebration card per rack pack.

#US222 – Jose Ramirez (ASG)

#US290 – Anthony Rendon (Checklist)

#US276 – San Diego Padres Rookie Combos

#US266 – Jett Bandy

#US206 – Partners in Pop (Milwaukee Brewers)

That's a nice Jett card.

#US275 – Bradley Zimmer (RC)

#US65 – Giancarlo Stanton (HRD)

#US85 – Tommy Milone

#US2 – Domingo German (RC)

#US110 – Corey Seager (ASG)

#US11 – Gary Sanchez (HRD)

#US113 – Franklin Barreto (RC / RD)

#US227 – Trey Mancini (RC / RD)

#US215 – Joe Jimenez (RC)

#US259 – Tyler Austin (RC / RD)

#US130 – Zack Greinke (ASG)

Here are the backs...oh wait, I didn't take pics of the backs for some reason, sorry.  Those responsible have been sacked.

Anyway, that's the pack.  Have a good week, be safe, and thanks for reading!

1947 Hollywood Official Movie Star Stamps (Best Actor/Actress)

This "pack" features six stamps of people nominated for Best Actor/Actress from various years. The stamps are perforated so that collectors could stick these in albums. The albums featured placeholders, often also featuring facsimile autographs. The stamps come in a variety of nominees, including supporting roles and international actors.

The letters "AAB" in the star represent the set, evidently. Research shows that there were a slew of sets with varying letter combinations (link below).

Featured on these stamps, from left to right, top to bottom, we have:

1935 - Victor McLaglen, Bette Davis
1936 - Paul Muni, Luise Rainer
1937 - Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer
1938 - Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis
1939 - Robert Donat, Vivien Leigh
1940 - James Stewart, Ginger Rogers


Some stamp info:
https://picclick.com/Complete-1947-Set-of-Hollywood-Official-Stamps-of-401946266441.html

1963 Topps Monster Laffs

You are looking at a pack of 1963 Topps Monster Laffs. The cards are 2" x 3" and are printed in black and white. There are 66 cards in this set. The cards were sold in 12-card packs wrapped in clear cello. Each card front features a different monster taking up the majority of the card face. The images are black and white  and appear to be stills from movies. Beneath each image is a pun or very low-brow caption. Think memes and dad jokes before those were labeled as a thing.

Below, we have the following hilarious examples:

Some of the cards were printed horizontally as well:

The hilarity continues with these classic gems:

And finishing up the pack, these gut-busting monster cards:

The backs are brown card stock and feature the card number, the "Monster Laffs" insignia, and a joke. Other information on the back includes a call to action to go see a movie and a copyright tag which features no date (which was common on many card products of the time).

1999 Low and Inside Field of Dreams Movie Site

This "pack" come by way of the 1999 "Field of Dreams Movie Site" Official Souvenir Program. The set of cards comes attached to the back cover of the program. I have not detached the cards yet, so please forgive any fuzziness around the edges as my scanner was not happy scanning these from the book.

The cards are all on one sheet and are perforated to be separated from the book and from each other. There are 9 cards in all. Each card features a part of an American flag that was used as the background behind all of the cards. It makes more sense to see it.

Each card features either a real-life person who has played at the Field of Dreams Movie Site or a meaningful item from the movie site. The first three cards below show Maury Wills, Bob Gibson, and Fergie Jenkins:

The next three show the Doc Graham headstone from Minnesota, the "Baseball has Marked the Time..." title card, and Kelsey Grammer:

The final three cards depict Kirby Puckett, Bob Feller, and Reggie Jackson:

These cards are high gloss for sure! I will most likely rip the "uncut" page from the book and place it in a full-page 3-ring sleeve. Then again, there's really no reason to pull the page off, I suppose. Of course, I am known for setting cards "free" from things like graded slabs, so i will probably rip these apart and put them in a proper 9-pocket page.

The backs of the cards feature the same flag background along with the "Field of Dreams Movie Site" logo. The upper right corner says, "photo by Low and Inside." Below the logo, the featured item's name appears in all caps. There is a different "Field of Dreams" icon below the name and location information, phone number and web address appear at the bottom.

When I bought these, I did not realize they were attached to a program nor did I realize there was an Indians HOFer featured! BONUS!